Standout Friends: Final '24 Spotlight + 2025 Reminder

ICYMI: MALF member organizations have until Friday, July 25 to submit one of their own for the 2025 cohort of Standout Friends in Minnesota. Click here for full details, including eligibility requirements and the application form.

Recipient perks include a gift package with a thematic tie to MALF’s fall programming; a matted and frameable certificate; commendation letter to the mayor and county commissioner in each recipient’s hometown; and a written featurette in an upcoming MALF e-newsletter. 

Speaking of, we’re due to profile the last of our '24 class of volunteers. Last but not least:

Spotlight: Joyce Wenz  |  Friends of the Rochester Public Library

In 2024 the Friends of the Rochester Public Library celebrated their diamond jubilee, or 75th anniversary. After that milestone, it’s safe to say that the Friends is a true institution in Olmsted County. 'Standout Friend' Joyce Wenz is a bona fide institution in her own right. In total, her affiliation with the group stretches back a full 30 years – an impressive commitment that only a handful of Friends anywhere in the Midwest can match. 

Joyce joined Rochester's board – for the first time – for a 15-year stretch starting in 1997. That included a term as president in 1999 and 2000, which happened to overlap with the organization’s 50th anniversary celebration. She was also a shaping force on the committee behind the Friends’ 60th anniversary. 

Despite her long tenure, or perhaps because of it, Joyce is living proof that Friends work never has to become stale. Over the years she has orchestrated creative events like book fairs, gift wrapping fundraisers in partnership with the local Barnes & Nobles, and even a bus tour of Twin Cities area bookstores back in 2013. In 2016, she joined the board for a second time – a tenure concluded at the end of 2024.